The present disclosure relates generally to cups and more particularly to cups cable of being collapsed and extended to hold both cold and hot beverages safely and effectively.
In the United States alone, it is reported that at least 25 billion coffee cups are thrown away each year, and at least 2.5 million plastic beverage bottles are thrown away every hour. According to one study, each paper cup manufactured is responsible for 0.24 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. Just one cup of coffee or tea in a disposable cup every day creates about 23 pounds of waste in one year. And when the disposable cup is a made of polystyrene and thrown into a landfill, most if not all of that waste will still be present in that landfill 500 years later.
In an effort to combat this situation and promote a greener Earth, it is becoming more and more common to see an individual carrying their own reusable cup or bottle, a company that no longer provides disposable cups at the coffee station, and coffee or tea shops that promote and sell sustainable cups or provide a discount for bringing your own cup.
Conventional ceramic cups are reusable but suffer from being fragile and incapable of being collapsed and thus unlikely to be placed into a bag or purse and brought with the consumer. While collapsible cups exist, the disadvantages of conventional collapsible cups are many including failing to maintain liquid temperature for a high range of temperatures; collapsing upon receipt of hot liquid; too hot to hold safely upon receipt of hot liquid; counter-intuitive to collapse and/or extend; failing to be leak-proof; and aesthetically unpleasing.
Accordingly, a novel collapsible cup solving the aforementioned problems is therefore desired.